Asian Market Update: Aggressive policy tightening from Turkey central bank boosting EM sentiment
***Economic Data*** - (TR) TURKEY CENTRAL BANK (CBRT) RAISES OVERNIGHT LENDING RATE BY 425BPS FROM 7.75% TO 12.00% (MORE THAN 225BPS EXPECTED); RAISES Repurchase Rate by 550bps from 4.50% to 10.00% (none expected); RAISES Overnight Borrowing Rate by 450bps from 3.50% to 8.00% (none expected) - (AU) AUSTRALIA DEC WESTPAC LEADING INDEX M/M: +0.1% V -0.1% PRIOR - (AU) AUSTRALIA DEC SKILLED VACANCIES M/M: -0.6% V +0.2% PRIOR - (KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC CYCLICAL LEADING INDEX CHANGE Y/Y: 0.5% V 0.3% PRIOR - (KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 3.4% V 1.0%E; Y/Y: +2.6% V -0.2%E - (KR) SOUTH KOREA DEC CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: $6.43B V $6.03B PRIOR; GOODS BALANCE: $5.71B V $6.18B PRIOR - (NZ) NEW ZEALAND DEC NEW LOW-DEPOSIT LOANS OF TOTAL NEW LENDING: 5.6% V 7.0% PRIOR - (SG) SINGAPORE Q4 PRELIM UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 1.8% V 1.8%E
***Observations/Insights*** - Yahoo, AT&T down over 2% after earnings; Growth in Yahoo price per click, AT&T subscriber adds slows. - Turkey central bank joins India (last night) and Brazil (2 weeks ago) with a more aggressive than expected policy tightening. Pledges to maintain tight monetary policy until clear improvement in inflation outlook, and targets inflation of 5% by mid-2015 due to a tighter stance. Perception of activist central bank measures to curb accelerating inflation and prevent disorderly outflows is cheered by the broader markets - S&P500 futures were up about 10 handles on the decision, JPY fell, while AUD and NZD rallied. - Pres Obama's State of the Union address defends Obamacare and diplomatic initiative on Iran; Calling for higher minimum wage pay, abolishing Fannie/Freddie for a new housing finance system, and pledging partnerships with tech/telecom firms to expand broadband connectivity in the school system. - New Zealand's NZIER shadow board calls for a rate hike in tomorrows decision.
***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (AU) Australia MoF (AOFM) sells A$800M in 2.75% 2024 Bonds; avg yield: 4.0912%; bid-to-cover: 2.60x - (CN) Daily Shibor fixings: O/N: 4.8000% v 4.8477% prior (1st decline in 7 consecutive sessions); 1-week: 5.1080% v 4.9657% prior (2nd consecutive rise) - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥400B in 5-10yr JGB and ¥200B in JGB with maturity over 10-yr - (US) API PETROLEUM INVENTORIES: CRUDE: +4.75M (2nd consecutive build) v +2Me; GASOLINE: +365K v +1Me; DISTILLATE: -1.79M v -2.5Me
- AUD and NZD are modestly higher at the expense of JPY after the more aggressive policy tightening from Turkey than expected. AUD/USD was up about 40pips above 0.8820, NZD/USD hit a high above 0.8290 (also up 40pips), while USD/JPY session high was around 103.40 - up about 50pips from the lows. EUR/USD is little changed above 1.3650 ahead of tomorrow's Fed decision.
***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) to promote traffic infrastructure development in 2014 - financial press - (CN) China big four banks outstanding new loans CNY430B in Jan1st-26th v CNY440B in Jan1st-20th - Chinese press - (CN) China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to push forward market-oriented IPO reform - financial press - (JP) Japan Labor Ministry data suggest 2013 real wages likely fell due to inflation - Kyodo News - (KR) South Korea Fin Min Hyun: Volatility in financial market increasing - financial press - (NZ) Moody's: New Zealand economy and finances are improving - (NZ) New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) Shadow Board's probability for RBNZ rate action this week has tipped in favor of a rate hike - NZ press
***Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +2.1%, S&P/ASX +0.9%, Kospi +1.2%, Shanghai Composite +0.3%, Hang Seng +1.1%, Mar S&P500 +0.5% at 1,797, Apr gold +0.2% at $1,253, Mar crude oil -0.2% at $97.26/brl
US markets: - EZPW: Reports Q1 $0.49(adj) v $0.40e, R$269M v $255Me; +16.3% afterhours - FSL: Reports Q4 $0.19 v $0.18e, R$1.08B v $1.05Be; Guides intial FY14 $3.65-4.00 v $3.96e, Rev +3-6% y/y; +9.5% afterhours - TSRA: Tessera and Samsung Enter into New Patent License Agreements; +2.7% afterhours - JPM: Said to be close to decision on $2B commodities unit sale to Blackstone Group - financial press; +0.5% afterhours - VMW: Reports Q4 $1.01 v $1.00e, R$1.48B v $1.47Be; Reiterates Q1 Rev $1.33-1.37B v $1.35Be; Reiterates FY14 R$5.94-6.10B v $6.00Be - conf call; -1.8% afterhours - T: Reports Q4 $0.53 (adj) v $0.50e, R$33.2B v $33.2Be; -2.1% afterhours - EA: Reports Q3 $1.26 v $1.23e, R$1.57B v $1.66Be; -2.3% afterhours - YHOO: Reports Q4 $0.46 v $0.38e, R$1.20B v $1.20Be; Guides Q1 Rev $1.06-1.1B(ex TAC) v $1.09Be - slides; 2014 focus will be on monetizing our growing traffic; -2.4% afterhours - ILMN: Reports Q4 $0.45 v $0.44e, R$387M v $380Me; -3.0% afterhours - CRUS: Reports Q3 $0.89 v $0.77e, R$218.9M v $212Me; -5.3% afterhours
Notable movers by sector: - Materials: Forge Group FGE.AU -8.3% (trading update); Atlas Iron AGO.AU +8.9% (Q2 shipment results); Hubei Sanxia New Building Material 600293.CN +5.3% (FY13 guidance); Maanshan Iron & Steel 323.HK +2.2% (FY13 guidance); Posco 005490.KR +0.7% (FY13 results) - Energy: Drillsearch Energy DLS.AU +6.3% (Q2 production results) - Technology: Canon Electronics 7739.JP +4.4% (FY13 results); Lenovo Group 992.HK +5.2% (reorganization plan); Tencent Holdings 700.HK +4.8% (positive comment from Credit Suisse) - Industrials: Korean Air Lines 003490.KR +6.1% (Q4 results); Samsung Engineering 028050.KR +7.9% (Q4 results); Suzuki Motor Corp 7269.JP +1.9% (Dec domestic production results); Mazda Motor Corp 7261.JP +2.3% (Dec domestic production results) - Telecom: LG Uplus Corp 032640.KR +2.9% (Q4 results)